Sian Eleri presents TONNA’: Wasia Project + B-Ahwe + Hana Lili

Wasia Project

The most enduring artists don’t just make songs: they invite you into an entire world. That’s the mission in a nutshell of Wasia Project, aka London-based siblings Will Gao (20) and Olivia Hardy (17), whose intoxicatingly honest alt-pop has generated an entire ecosystem of like-minded fans with deep connections to the band’s scalpel-sharp take on adolescent growing pains. “Our fanbase is very young as well, and they’re growing with us,” says Olivia, “We’re so in touch with [our audience] because of social media, which helps us create a place of belonging where you’re not alone.”

That ethos has made Wasia Project one of the UK’s most exciting new pop acts. The band has an online audience of over almost 200K, eight million Spotify streams, and, in 2022, the duo’s music was streamed in 179 nations around the world. You’d be forgiven for not knowing that many countries existed. But their massive reach is a corollary of their pan- global approach to pop.

B-Ahwe

Hana Lili

Welsh-born artist Hana Lili is a self produced artist and songwriter creating indie pop music hailing from a sonic world, which combines intimate, confessional lyrics over immaculate self-taught bedroom pop production. Like many of her peers, quarantine provided the ideal environment for Hana to buckle down into her songwriting within the sanctum of her own bedroom, emerging from the pandemic armed with a stunning 4-track debut EP Flowers Die In The Summer. Spearheaded by Hana’s unique ear for melody, rugged guitar chords, vulnerable lyrics, and nostalgic noughties-esque pop production, the homespun EP certifies Hana Lili as a vital new voice within the bedroom pop movement. With early press support from The Guardian, Notion, Dummy, i-D, Clash, Dork and The Line of Best Fit and an unexpected play on this year’s series of Love Island, Hana Lili is your latest artist to watch.